Monday morning witnessed the courthouse appearance of Venezuela's former president Nicolas Maduro on federal narco-terrorism charges, the New York Post reported. The 66-year-old arrived at Manhattan's federal judicial complex with his wife Cilia Flores, 69, aboard an armored vehicle that maneuvered into a secured zone before 7:45 a.m., according to the New York Post.
Streets surrounding the courthouse witnessed a massive deployment of Drug Enforcement Administration agents alongside New York police forces equipped with advanced weaponry during the transfer operation, the New York Post reported.
Federal prosecutors secured capital punishment authorization for the case against the captured Venezuelan leader, whose conviction on terrorism and narcotics trafficking counts could result in execution, according to the New York Post. Following his extraction from the presidential compound in Caracas by American military forces, the former authoritarian remains confined at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center on a four-count indictment.
Video: Maduro transferred to NYC court / Credit: Reuters
Judicial outcomes range from permanent imprisonment to the death penalty should jurors find the former head of state guilty on all charges, according to the New York Post.
Around 7:30 a.m., the rotary aircraft transporting the deposed leader touched ground in Lower Manhattan, the New York Post reported. Security personnel numbering approximately eight, all bearing substantial armaments, conducted a swift transfer from the helicopter to an awaiting armored truck before the convoy departed toward judicial facilities, according to the New York Post.
Detention officers moved both the former president and his spouse toward the aircraft in restraints, the New York Post reported. Standard prison attire covered both individuals as they exited Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center for the Manhattan transfer, according to the New York Post.
